Wednesday, April 10, 2013

Illinois


The Geography of Illinois


Illinois is located in the Midwest Region of the United States and is one of the nine states and Canadian Province of Ontario in the bi-national Great Lakes region of North America.

Bordered by the Mississippi River on the west and the Wabash and Ohio Rivers on the southeast and south, the landscape of Illinois can be grouped into three main regions; the Central Plains, the Shawnee Hills and the Gulf Coastal Plain.

 
About 90% of Illinois is covered by the Central Plains region. These gently rolling fertile plains were carved and leveled by glaciers during the Ice Age. The Central Plains run from Lake Michigan west and south to cover most of the state and can be divided into three sections; the Great Lakes Plain, the Driftless Plains and the Till Plains.






History



The history of Illinois may be defined by several broad historical periods, namely, the pre-Columbian period, the era of European exploration and colonization, its development as part of the American frontier, and finally, its growth into one of the most populous and economically powerful states of theUnited States.
French explorers Jacques Marquette and Louis Joliet, in 1673, were the first Europeans of record to visit the region. In 1699 French settlers established the first permanent settlement at Cahokia, near present-day East St. Louis. Great Britain obtained the region at the end of the French and Indian Wars in 1763. The area figured prominently in frontier struggles during the Revolutionary Warand in Indian wars during the early 19th century.
Significant episodes in the state's early history include the influx of settlers following the opening of the Erie Canal in 1825; the Black Hawk War, which virtually ended the Indian troubles in the area; and the rise of Abraham Lincoln from farm laborer to president.



The capital of  Illinois - Springfield 


File:Springfield, Illinois flag.svg 
Springfield is the third and current capital of the US state of Illinois and the county seat of Sangamon County with a population of 116,250 (U.S. Bureau of the Census, 2010), making it the sixth most populated city in the state and the second most populated Illinois city outside of the Chicago Metropolitan Area.
Just over 208,000 residents live in the Springfield Metropolitan Statistical Area, which includes Sangamon County and adjacent Menard County. Present-day Springfield was first settled by European Americans in the late 1810s, around the time Illinois became a state. The most famous past resident is Abraham Lincoln, who lived in Springfield from 1837 until 1861, when he went to the White House as 
Abraham Lincoln's Tomb, Springfield





President. Major tourist attractions include a multitude of historic sites connected with Lincoln. In 1908 a large race riot erupted in the city, which resulted in the lynching of two African-American men and deaths of four whites killed by defenders of black areas; it led to the founding of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP).

You can read more about Springfield here: http://www.rv-trips.com/rv-destinations/cities/springfield-illinois

or here: http://www.galenfrysinger.com/springfield_illinois.htm





Walt Disney


The creator of Mickey Mouse and founder of Disneyland and Walt Disney World was born in Chicago, Illinois, on December 5, 1901. His father, Elias Disney, was an Irish-Canadian. His mother, Flora Call Disney, was of German-American descent. Walt was one of five children, four boys and a girl.


During a 43-year Hollywood career, which spanned the development of the motion picture medium as a modern American art, Walter Elias Disney, a modern Aesop, established himself and his product as a genuine part of Americana. David Low, the late British political cartoonist, called Disney "the most significant figure in graphic arts since Leonardo DaVinci." A pioneer and innovator, and the possessor of one of the most fertile imaginations the world has ever known, Walt Disney, along with members of his staff, received more than 950 honors and citations from every nation in the world, including 48 Academy Awards and 7 Emmys in his lifetime. Walt Disney's personal awards included honorary degrees from Harvard, Yale, the University of Southern California and UCLA; the Presidential Medal of Freedom; France's Legion of Honor and Officer d'Academie decorations; Thailand's Order of the Crown; Brazil's Order of the Southern Cross; Mexico's Order of the Aztec Eagle; and the Showman of the World Award from the National Association of Theatre Owners.


You can also watch some videos about Walt Disney: http://www.biography.com/people/walt-disney-9275533/videos



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